In this article, I’ll be talking about how to make money selling art. While for some it can seem impossible, with the right ideas in mind, there is a definite chance that you can make money selling your art.

Here more than ever, it is about your methods.

What Is the Most Important Part of Making Money with My Art?

By far the most important thing to consider here is your audience. You’ve probably heard the term “niche targeting” floating around (you might even recognize it from last week’s cookie article.) and for good reason: it is the guideline by which you market your product.

When you are going to sell your art, you should do it with an audience in mind. You could possibly get away with just making something and hoping people buy it, but it’s not likely. You’ll have far more success with an audience, or a “target.”

Whether you’re doing oil-on-canvas painting, or hand-carving wooden sculptures, you should produce things which appeal to certain people. That might mean making art about pop culture (which is a very common way to sell art) or about things that people recognize, like landmarks and structures.

While we all wish their our deepest, rawest art could make us a fortune, sadly, it doesn’t usually work that way. Perhaps once you have more of a nest egg, you’ll have time to pursue that idea.

I’ve Got My Niche Targeted, What Next?

That’s great.

Now, targeting a niche isn’t all about Etsy or online storefronts.

Sometimes, your art might be best suited to public displays, or businesses.

A sculptor might have just as much luck trying to get commissioned by a museum as they would selling sculpts online.

Once that’s all settled, remember that an artist is judged heavily by their portfolio. Don’t forget to capture your works in some way before you sell them; preferably, in high-quality pictures from multiple angles (if it is physical art.)

For maximum effect, host your portfolio on your own website. A picture of yourself, a link to your work, and a casually-kept blog can do wonders for your online presence.

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Believe it or not, a lot of your business might come from in-person interactions, too. It’s important to have some business cards that have your number and your website address on them at all times. You never know when it might come up in conversation.

Aside from posting it to your social media accounts (Instagram is a must for artists) consider also posting it to a forum site, like reddit or Tumblr. It can be very easy to generate interest with these sites, if your post becomes popular. If people like your art enough, they’ll comment and ask where they can get it– that’s when you direct them to your site.

Of course, the best part about art is that it is capable of speaking for itself.

So one good way to get the word out is simply to get your art out there in a place where it can be seen. Perhaps that means doing some art for a local business, or selling some art to customers for cheap.

Once you get eyes on it, you’ve got more potential customers.

Parting Advice?

While it is true that you want to get the best art out there as possible, that doesn’t mean that you need to sell the pieces that you have a personal attachment to. Displaying it in your own space (or wearing it, if you’re making that type of art) is a perfectly viable way of using it, as well.

When it comes to selling art, the line can get blurry.

Many artists are not actually willing to make money off of their passion, because they feel that it violates their artist’s integrity.

Not surprisingly, these people won’t be making money off of their art any time soon!

By simply sharing your art with the world, you’re already beating out 90% of artists.

If your art is physical, particularly like clothing, jewelery, or accessories, make sure that you’re capable of reproducing it on a wide scale. It won’t do you any good to sell them if the product looks nothing like the picture!

If you also make art in the form of music, you might want to check out my recent article about singing.

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